Dave Russo

Mods & Builds EditorScranton, Pennsylvania

Fifteen years on Mack trucks. Now runs the mod guides out of his two-car garage.

Dave spent fifteen years as a diesel mechanic at a Mack truck dealership in Scranton — started right out of high school at 18, worked his way up to lead tech. He fell into kei trucks in 2019 when his neighbor Gary brought over a Daihatsu Hijet that wouldn't start. Turned out to be a dead battery and corroded terminals. Twenty-minute fix. Gary told a friend, who told a friend, and within two years Dave was the "kei truck guy" in northeast PA.

He left the dealership in 2021 and now works out of his garage, which is not technically a business but everyone calls it Russo's Garage anyway. He's married to Maria, has two teenage sons who help in the garage when bribed, and keeps a fridge stocked with Yuengling for post-install celebrations.

Dave writes every mod guide on the site, plus the maintenance content, parts sourcing, and tools coverage. He uses his own trucks — a 1996 Daihatsu Hijet and a 1992 Mitsubishi Minicab — as the test bed for every guide. If a mod is on Keijira, Dave has actually done it.

What Dave covers

Modifications and upgrades
Maintenance and repair
Parts sourcing
Diesel and small-engine mechanics
Tool recommendations
Build documentation

Dave's kei vehicles

1996 Daihatsu Hijet“The Hijet”
white-ish, 4WD, dump bed, 2" lift — his rolling laboratory
1992 Mitsubishi Minicab“The Cab”
bought as a parts truck, now his daily driver

Articles by Dave (32)

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